Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

[Ken Craft]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

I'm not going at all. The Zundel piece is quite a few years old...

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

I'm not going at all. The Zundel piece is quite a few years old...

The friend who taught me the chess moves a good half century ago went on to become a lawyer. Specializes in war crimes from what I gather. I've read about him over the years. Haven't seen him in decades.

[Kenneth Regan]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Kevin Spraggett had announced that he was going to post his Alekhine expose' piece on the 24th, and it's now gone past the 26th. Nada since Monday 23rd. I wonder if the secret agents from Lisbon intent on keeping the secret of A.A.A.'s death got to him? ;->

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Kevin Spraggett had announced that he was going to post his Alekhine expose' piece on the 24th, and it's now gone past the 26th. Nada since Monday 23rd. I wonder if the secret agents from Lisbon intent on keeping the secret of A.A.A.'s death got to him? ;->

Hmmmmm..... I thought A.A. got a bad Olive in his Martini.

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Kevin Spraggett had announced that he was going to post his Alekhine expose' piece on the 24th, and it's now gone past the 26th. Nada since Monday 23rd. I wonder if the secret agents from Lisbon intent on keeping the secret of A.A.A.'s death got to him? ;->

Considering that the murder occurred in 1946 on March 24 and that the agents were most likely to be 30 years of age ( or older ), that would make them about 95 years old today. Hardly candidates for another mission today.

Try re-thinking that one.

Consider the fact that Estoril was a hotbed for espionage as Spraggett's introduction indicates.


The Palacio Hotel
Military secrets were bought , and sold here. ( Portugal was neutral ) The streets were filled with secret agents and secret police.

Would YOU feel comfortable about discovering the truth about a murder at this location in 1946? --and living in Portugal today?

Go figure...

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

( Portugal was neutral )

It wasn't as simple as that. I think people should read a good history book before coming to this conclusion.

[Precy Mckoy]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

We call them "Canadian" aren't they?

Why didn't Kevin Spraggett represent Canada for the Past Chess Olympiad?

Why didn't Steve Nash represent Canada in the past Olympic Basketball Games?

These are few individuals who should be representatives of the country?

I would prefer blogs from our current representatives! Forget the past and we'll move to the present! I think Kevin has past his days, I wonder if he can still match up with our current pool of strong players! I doubt..

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

It wasn't as simple as that. I think people should read a good history book before coming to this conclusion.

According to history books and internet sources Portugal was one of 5 countries officially neutral during World War II .

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_count...in_World_War_2

What evidence is there that this should be otherwise? Spain and Germany are known to have tried to negotiate , but Franco was stubborn. This of course did not stop volunteer Spaniards from fighting in WWII mostly against the Red Army in Russia. But Portugal?

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

I would prefer blogs from our current representatives!

Good idea! Since you are a chess organizer, perhaps you can get them to do something!

I think Kevin has past his days, I wonder if he can still match up with our current pool of strong players! I doubt..

A peak in 2007 , and generally on the up and up. Not as you indicate.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

A peak in 2007 , but generally on the up and up. Not as you indicate.

More early numbers:
http://db.chessmetrics.com/CM2/Playe...00000027910100

if the link does not work, use http://db.chessmetrics.com/CM2/FindPlayer.asp and search for Spraggett

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Spain and Germany are known to have tried to negotiate , but Franco was stubborn. This of course did not stop volunteer Spaniards from fighting in WWII mostly against the Red Army in Russia. But Portugal?

Wiki isn't exactly a history book. Switzerland has since been implicated for the Nazi Gold. Certainly collusion was involved. Portugal was a self interested noncombatant. Salazar was known to be sympathetic with the Axis forces. He also sometimes cooperated with the Allies. Portugal supplied the Nazis with Tungsten until around 1944 when a stop was put to it. The spying and secrets was already mentioned in something you posted here. At the end of the war the U.S. wanted Portugal to surrender 44 tons of gold.

Here's something from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/10/wo...pagewanted=all

Portugal and their WWII role is completely off topic as far as I know but your contention of their neutrality appears incorrect.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Here's something from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/10/wo...pagewanted=all

The first sentence:
As World War II raged across Europe, Portugal sold tungsten and other goods to Nazi Germany, profiting handsomely from its neutral status in the conflict.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

The first sentence:
As World War II raged across Europe, Portugal sold tungsten and other goods to Nazi Germany, profiting handsomely from its neutral status in the conflict.

I noticed the sarcasm.

[Anthony Cheron]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

your contention of their neutrality appears incorrect.

Portugal was politically neutral. The country did not take up arms, or put on uniforms to fight outside its borders in WWII. Portugal declared neutral.

Neutrality does not mean that a country is peace-loving, kind, compassionate of all people on the planet, and law abiding. In fact, it may have been a terrible place for Alehkine to end up in his last days. Did he deserve to be murdered? Maybe. Maybe not. But the point of Spraggett's upcoming article is to point to the truth. Was he murdered? Or did he die from taking too much of a bite out of his steak dinner? ---that's the official version.

Gary, I dare you to post a picture of Nazi gold on this site! I don't believe that most people understand the magnitude of the amount of gold that was stolen and 'laundered' so to speak by way of countries like Portugal.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Kevin Spraggett on Chess - ( his blog )

Gary, I dare you to post a picture of Nazi gold on this site! I don't believe that most people understand the magnitude of the amount of gold that was stolen and 'laundered' so to speak by way of countries like Portugal.

The 44 Tons of gold the Americans wanted Portugal to surrender after the war wasn't really that much. To put it in perspective, the U.S. stores around 10,000 metric tons in a couple of places. Their depository and the Federal Reserve. And that's only a couple of stashes.

The 44 Tons is approximately 1 million troy oz. One company, Barrick Gold, produces around 8 million troy oz. per year. There was plenty of looted gold channeled to so called neutral nations.

Portugal embraced the Allies more enthusiastically by around 1944 when the outcome of the war became more clear. It wouldn't do to be on the wrong side of "neutrality" at the end of the war.

I'll tell you something, Anthony. I'd a lot sooner be living in Canada and criticizing the Canadian government than I would be living in Portugal and criticizing the Portuguese government. I think most people understand this concept.